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Bolton home preview (edited compared to the postponed game)

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Bolton home preview (edited compared to the postponed game)

Postby Sweden Stag » Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:51 pm

A decade ago, a Bolton Wanderers visit to One Call Stadium aka Field Mill seemed highly unlikely to take place ever again. Then, Bolton were an established Premier League side, finishing sixth in 2004-05, seventh in 2006-07 and eighth in 2003-04 and 2005-06 respectively, earning the Trotters the right to even compete in European competitions twice, while the Stags then were on their lowest low, enough printed. Four consecutive Bolton PL top-half placings were all achieved under Sam Allardyce, who managed the Trotters for eight years and steered them to PL promotion in 2001 starting a stay at the highest level for eleven consecutive seasons, when the Trotters on several occasions made life hard for the established sides.

But after Allardyce’s departure, the slide began slowly. Relegation followed in 2012 and since then, Bolton have endured serious problems both on and off the field, and mostly in recent seasons. The problems at Bolton were similar to those of Portsmouth, who crashed from PL to League Two inside four seasons and then were to face the Stags in their EFL comeback season and a further three more. As recently as in the 2018-19 campaign, Bolton played in Championship but signs of sliding were already showing when not even fulfilling a home fixture against Brentford at the very end of that season. Signs of administration followed which meant that Bolton started last season with -12 points, thus facing an uphill struggle from the off, and inevitably, relegation to the basement followed, where Bolton in fact have played once before, and this in the 1987-88 season following relegation playoff defeat against the old Aldershot club. But Bolton returned to third tier straight away on the final day of that season by beating Wrexham away while Torquay lost their home fixture against Scunthorpe. Interestingly enough, all other promoted teams from the basement then now play or have played in the PL and also had previous top-tier experience: Wolves, Cardiff and Swansea.

In the League, the Stags and the Trotters faced each other quite frequently over two decades, all games at Bolton at then Burnden Park. So Reebok Stadium or whatever it is called was a new venue for the Stags when the sides clashed in early November. Then, Bolton were very lucky to snatch a draw in added time to a final 1-1 scoreline.

The first time ever the sides clashed was in the 1971-72 season in which Bolton played outside the top two divisions for the first time ever. On October 2, 1971, Bolton won their home fixture to a 2-0 scoreline while the Stags gained revenge later that season thanks to a strike from Frank Wignall.

When the Stags played in the second tier in 1977-78, Bolton were one of the opponents. Then, a Stags manager to be, Ian Greaves, managed Bolton in both games against the Stags, and he was to steer Bolton into the top flight after an absence since 1963-64 and two previous near-misses for promotion. He was to manage Bolton in 256 games before leaving in early 1980 for obvious reasons, bottom at the top tier. Then, Greaves managed Oxford for a while, steering them to third tier safety in 1980-81 and a FA Cup giant-killing at Brighton the following campaign before leaving for an unsuccessful spell at Wolves, culminating in relegation.

Greaves’ next managerial role was to be at the Stags. He was appointed in early 1983 following the departure of Stuart Boam and was to be the Stags’ currently longest-serving manager of all time, lasting exactly six years and a week before leaving in 1989. Greaves managed 311 games for the Stags, one promotion from the basement in 1986, and also the win in the Freight Rover Trophy final in 1987 by beating Bristol City (with a future Stags boss Keith Curle in their side) on penalties at the old Wembley.

When managing the Stags, he managed AGAINST Bolton on a few occasions, three times in third division fixtures and once in the FA Cup. But in the first-ever FA Cup tie between the sides in 1978, Greaves managed Bolton against the Stags. Yet the first managerial role for Greaves was at Huddersfield and he steered then into the top tier exactly half a century ago, managing the Terriers in 281 games.

Previous league fixtures between the Stags have mostly been low-scoring ones with a few draws tucked in between. But the highest victory for any side was the most unlogical one ever. This in the 1990-91 season when Bolton had been unbeaten for months, something like over twenty games, and the Stags had then just won twice
at headquarters when the sides clashed at Field Mill on March 12, 1991. In the end, it was an unlikely rout when looking at the league table with the Stags winning to a 4-0 scoreline thanks to two strikes from Fairclough, one apiece by Christie and Wilkinson. Fairclough was also the scorer in the 1-1 draw at Burnden Park that season. The most recent games between the sides were played in the 1992-93 campaign when the Trotters won 2-1 at headquarters, Stags scorer Noteman, and 1-1 at Field Mill a month later with Wilkinson as Stags scorer.

After the 1-1 draw in November, Bolton won four games on the trot but the Trotters stopped their winless run of six League Two games with some very creditable ones, especially at Carlisle when a 3-0 deficit was turned into a 3-3 draw in the final minutes at Brunton Park on Boxing Day, 2020 by beating Leyton Orient at home to a 2-0 scoreline after two quickfire goals midway through the second half. On that same Boxing Day as the Bolton draw at Carlisle, the Stags started their current run of five straight three-pointers, their best one in the EFL since the 1991-92 season, when the Stags won seven in a row to a scoreline of 18 for, just four against. The final victory during that sequence was a 4-1 rout at Scunthorpe on October 26, 1991. And the current Stags run started at Scunthorpe as well. This game against Bolton was due to be played last Tuesday, but was postponed due to the weather. And the Stags also had their Saturday away game at Walsall postponed due to a waterlogged pitch in the Black Country.

Elsewhere, prospects are looking grim for Grimsby and Southend at the wrong side of the survival line after defeats last Saturday. Both sides have also played more games than the sides immediately above the dreaded line and also have a vastly inferior goal-difference compared to their current main rivals.

Quite a few players have appeared for the Stags and the Trotters over the years. One of those, Alex John-Baptiste, played last Saturday while Gethin Jones last played in Bolton’s 2-1 defeat at Tranmere the previous Saturday, while Harry Charsley, ever-present during the Stags’ current winning run, appeared once for Bolton in the Championship, a 2-0 defeat at Brentford on January 13, 2018. Meanwhile, Nicky Hunt played a few seasons for Bolton when in their recent PL adventure.

If someone finds more players who have appeared for both sides than those listed below, just let me know on Stagsnet.

Played for both sides: Alex John-Baptiste, Harry Charsley, Giles Coke, Simon Coleman, Craig Davies, Nicky Hunt, Gethin Jones, Jacob Mellis, Trevor Morgan, Joe Riley, Andy Roscoe, Scott Sellars, George Taft, Steve Taylor, Tyler Walker, Neil Whatmore, Paul Wheatcroft, Hayden White, Steve Whitworth.

Played for Bolton, later managed Stags: Dave Holdsworth.

Managed both sides: Ian Greaves.

Stats file

At Mansfield: P 7, W 2, D 3, L 2, GF 9, GA 6
At Bolton: P 8, W 1, D 4, L 3, GF 5,GA 9

Season At Mansfield At Bolton

1971-72 1-0 1972-03-27 0-2 1971-10-02 Div 3 (old)
1977-78 0-1 1978-03-11 0-2 1977-10-15 Div 2 (old)
1986-87 2-2 1986-11-22 1-0 1987-01-03 Div 3 (old)
1988-89 1-1 1989-03-25 0-0 1989-01-02 Div 3 (old)
1989-90 0-1 1990-03-06 1-1 1989-09-30 Div 3 (old)
1990-91 4-0 1991-03-12 1-1 1990-10-02 Div 3 (old)
1992-93 1-1 1993-04-03 1-2 1993-03-09 Div 2
2020-21 (at Bolton) 1-1 2020-11-03 League Two

FA Cup:

1977-78 0-1 1978-02-06 4th round at Burnden Park
1983-84 0-2 1983-12-10 2nd round at Burnden Park

Come on Mansfield!
Stockholm, July 4, 2008, 15.00 GMT. Good news came, K.H. gone. March 1, 2012. Ground purchased.
Sweden Stag
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